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Tzaangor
A Tzaangor is a type of Abhuman mutant, known as a Beastman, that serves the Chaos God Tzeentch. True to the Changer of the Ways, the Beastmen of Tzeentch are spectacularly variable -- bright of colouration and sharp of intellect. Their beaks clack as they chant blasphemous refrains in the Dark Tongue, gimlet eyes glowing in their aquiline skulls. Their hunger for knowledge stems from a desire for power, and even in battle they look to transcend their base existences by seeking out arcane artefacts and priceless sorcerous texts. In serving Sorcerer masters, usually of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion, they may earn the chance to elevate themselves above their earthly stations, but in truth such occasions are rare, for a streak of cruelty lurks within the warlike soul of every Tzaangor. When given the opportunity, they will take their ire out on those who oppose them in inventive displays of blade-work -- or, when they put aside their artistic pretensions for the gratification of raw brutality, a gory display of violence. History The origins of Tzaangors are as varied as their appearance. They arise where Tzeentch wills it, and are brought into being by his blessed transmutations. Some are the product of grim experiments performed on the slaves taken to the Planet of the Sorcerers. Others are shaped from the crews of damaged starships caught in Warp Storms, their bodies transmuted through exposure to pure empyric power. Perhaps most horrific are the Tzaangors born to human mothers on worlds enshrouded by the Cicatrix Maledictum. Whole generations of these creatures burst quickly into nightmarish existence, whereupon they ravenously devour the defenders of their home planet. Role of Tzeentch.]] The blasphemous chanting of massed Tzaangors rises to a crescendo as they draw close to their prey. Multi-hued tongues flap within aquiline beaks, eagerly lapping up the taste of fear and confusion. Iridescent eyes glow with inhuman savagery, and the cruelly twisted horns that sprout from each Tzaangor's skull clatter together as they vie to be first into the fray. With jagged blades they hack their victims apart before trampling the dying beneath clawed feet. Tzaangors are the mutated bearers of Tzeentch's blessings, unnatural abominations who serve as shock troops for the Thousand Sons thrallbands. Their bodies, though hideously malformed by the warping power of the Architect of Fate, are ideally suited to warfare. Long limbs flex with corded muscle, and thorny quill-like protrusions grow across their chests and shoulders. Most Tzaangors resemble some sort of amalgam of man, beast and bird, although some are even more aberrant in shape, with heads that are split down the middle or bodies rent with fluctuating clefts. Tzaangors are driven by Warp-infused compulsion to seek out knowledge in all its forms, and to slaughter those who stand in the way of their pursuits. Alongside these predatory instincts exists a level of cunning and intelligence belied by their monstrous form. Tzaangors are more than capable of formulating complex battle plans, communicating amongst their ranks through harsh trills and staccato clicks. Working together in flocks, they can run ruin through an unsuspecting populace or entrenched enemy line. Each Tzaangor is motivated by a personal desire to accumulate arcane knowledge, and it is their belief that through the pursuit of such knowledge they may receive even more of Tzeentch's blessings. To enact their butchery, some Tzaangors wield massive blades wrought from metal or bone, while others use buzzing chainswords and crude autopistols. Often, a member of a flock will carry a daemonically mawed instrument, the piercing blasts of which stir other nearby Tzaangors into a bestial frenzy. The most savage member of a flock is known as a Twistbray, and they usually bear on their body the most warping gifts of their creator-god. Tzaangor Warherd , charges into battle.]] Where the Astartes of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion pledged their souls to Tzeentch or were manipulated into his service, fighting alongside them are those who are born of the Great Shaper's hideous will. These creatures are a fusion of bestial ferocity, avian agility and human cunning, and by raw instinct they sow the seeds of mutation throughout the galaxy. In battle, Tzaangors will often form a fighting formation, known as a Tzaangor warherd. Led by an Exalted Sorcerer, when this formidable bestial formation charges into battle, the air fills with a cawing, hooting cacophony. Cantrips spark from gnarled talons and weapons are discharged through sheer exuberance. These Beastmen have served their Sorcerer master tirelessly; some have even fallen to a cursed spawn-change in the process, becoming bestial in mind as well as in body. But their reward is finally here. Tzaangor warherds are given the spoils of the corpse-harvest -- cadavers to make into grotesque puppets, body parts for the stewing of vile witches' brews, and sparkling jewels with which to adorn their jutting horns and feathered anatomies. Avarice glints in every eye as the warherd's proud strut accelerates into a loping run, then a howling, shrieking sprint -- those in their path will be torn apart and worn as bloody trophies by day's end. Tzaangor Enlightened carried upon their Discs of Tzeentch.]] Tzaangors whose hunt for knowledge has caught the eye of their god may be bestowed one of Tzeentch's blessings. Often this results in the creature devolving into an even more grotesque abomination -- a Chaos Spawn. However, the lucky few engorged with such Warp power are elevated above their twisted brethren, physically, mentally and spiritually. They exist in a state of constant communion with Tzeentch, and through him they see the shifting strands of fate converge and separate. The Tzaangors view the Enlightened as paragons of warfare, and the destiny towards which they all must progress. Enlightened soar above the battlefield on Discs of Tzeentch, riding the streams of fate as a raptor would ride thermals. Even the Sorcerers of the Thousand Sons respect these creatures, for their savagery is seen as one of Tzeentch's many esoteric tools. Constantly aware of the flow of causality, Enlightened can see where and when their strikes will cause the most damage. The divining spears some carry are tuned to predetermined victims, emitting humming reverberations that grow louder as they near their targets. Other Enlightened wield Fatecaster Greatbows, strung with ectoplasmic cords that send ensorcelled arrows on deadly paths. Lastly, some carry Chainswords and Autopistols used in their past lives as human Heretics, for these were the tools by which they first achieved glory before Tzeentch. Tzaangor Shamans Tzaangor Shamans are the most exalted of their mutated kind. They are oracles and prophets, and they preach to their ilk atop flying Discs of Tzeentch. Their psychic mastery is born not of endless study, but of singular devotion to their god, and is unleashed upon their foes amidst ritual chants in the fathomless language of the Tzaangors. It is with the Shamans that the Sorcerers of the Thousand Sons make their fell pacts, though these Sorcerers are ever wary of the deals they make; the Shamans serve the fickle will of Tzeentch above all else. On the Planet of the Sorcerers, Shamans lead herds of their kin on long pilgrimages across the constantly shifting Warp-wastes. These mass migrations follow lines of power that wind across the planet's crust, converging at sites where the roiling aetheric energy is at its thickest. At these sites, they raise great flux-cairns -- megaliths inscribed with glyphs and runes, and shaped in symbols sacred to Tzeentch -- which serve as repositories for the arcane knowledge stolen and despoiled by the Tzaangor tribes. The Shamans use these to channel Tzeentch's power throughout realspace by erecting duplicate monoliths in the jungles and barrens of other worlds. The longer each simulacra remains in place, the more its warping influence bleeds into the planet on which it stands, transforming the world and preparing it for a full-scale invasion. Unit Composition Tzaangors *'10-29 Tzaangors' *'1 Twistbray' Tzaangor Enlightened *'2-8 Enlightened' *'1 Aviarch' Tzaangor Warherd Composition *'1 Exalted Sorcerer' *'3 Units of Tzaangors (30-90)' *'0-6 Units (0-180) of Tzaangors or Chaos Spawn' Wargear Tzaangors *'2 Tzaangor Blades' *'Autopistol and Chainsword (As replacement for Tzaangor Blades)' Tzaangor Shaman *'Force Stave' *'Disc of Tzeentch' Tzaangor Enlightened *'Divining Spear' *'Disc of Tzeentch' *'Autopistol and Chainsword (As replacement for Divining Spear)' *'Fatecaster Greatbow' Sources *''Codex Heretic Astartes - Thousand Sons'' (8th Edition), pp. 42-43, 73, 75, 78 *''War Zone: Fenris - Wrath of Magnus'' (7th Edition), pp. 144, 150 Gallery Blades of Magnus Tzaangor.png|A Tzaangor of the Blades of Magnus thrallband; this albino Tzaangor hails from a herd that practices a cult of violence-loving, and have taken to following the Blades. Prism of Fate Tzaangor.png|A Tzaangor of the Prism of Fate thrallband; as a devotee of Tzeentch, this fell creature bears the symbol of the Sorcerer to whom he is bound, fighting as a living barrier as much as a methodical killing machine. Sectai Prosperine Tzaangor.png|A Tzaangor of the Sectai Prosperine thrallband; this Tzaangor's flesh has been painted royal purple to designate its allegiance to its Tzeentchian masters. Tizcan Host Tzaangor.png|A Tzaangor of the Tizcan Host thrallband. TzaangorFatecasterBowMini.jpg|A Tzaangor wielding a Fatecaster Greatbow. Category:T Category:Abhumans and Mutants Category:Chaos Category:Thousand Sons